Discovering Holland – in Russia

A redesign competition for St. Petersburg's New Holland Island gives the public a chance to look at a space closed for 300 years.

Source: Kommersant

St. Petersburg’s New Holland Island is set to
get a makeover, thanks to Roman Abramovich’s Millhouse Capital, Darya Zhukova’s
Iris Fund and London-based The Architecture Foundation. A new exhibit showcasing
eight possible designs for the island’s renovation was recently on display in
the former Kryukov Barracks, across from the island.

Although
the exhibit included eight possible designs, only four from the internationally
held tender have made the short list –Nikita Yavein’s Studio 44, David
Chipperfield Architects, MVRDV and Work AC. The designers that have already
been rejected are Rem Koolhaas, Jeremy Dixon and Edward Jones of Dixon Jones,
Anne Lacaton and Jean-Philippe Vassal of Lacaton & Vassal, and Yuri
Avakumov and Georgy Solopov.

Of the four eliminated bidders, Koolhaas is
the only one who literally got to the bottom of New Holland – but neglected to
fit his design into urban planning codes and, hence, to make his way onto the
short list. Reflecting his Dutch heritage, Koolhaas cut new canals on the manmade
island – which was formed by the Moika, Kryukov and Admiralty canals dug out in
the 18th century – turning a single island into a four-island
archipelago. Each smaller island had a unique character and functional purpose:
The Trade islet included a retail waterside promenade with fashion shows in
historical buildings; the Knowledge and Health islet featured a romantic garden
of sculptures, bathhouses in ruins, and a vessel exhibition on Kryukov Canal;
the Creativity islet hosted 100 experimental art halls which must gradually
snowball into a museum of the century; and finally, the islet of Public Events was
intended as a huge exhibition and concert venue.

Lacaton & Vassal were eliminated from the
tender with their model of a “public culture market.” They intended for a glass
dome to cover the island’s vacant space. Muscovites Yuri Avakumov and Georgy
Solopov proposed a presentation of “the historic function of storing mast
timber” by installing a multi-tiered theater and exhibition complex called
Russian Hills on the site of a historic complex of buildings. In turn, Dixon Jones
dispensed with eccentric architectural configurations altogether, instead
calling upon the investors to build a large exhibition center on the
island.

As for the four finalists, only Studio 44
adamantly turned its back on new development, suggesting that a broken contour
of the architectural ensemble be sealed with a ship grove to commemorate timber
yards. In different seasons, a new “coliseum” would be filled with plenty of
snow, grass and sand, while a galley-like pool may transform into a stage, ice
rink or bathhouse. A villa with a mooring line will be fashioned in one of the
corner historic buildings. The interior space of the warehouses has been
historically split into sections and can be adapted to diverse functional uses.

David Chipperfield also has a vertical layout.
The Englishman proposes building on the north side of the island a permanent,
multilayered structure that would provide venues for exhibitions, film
showings, performances and installations. British sculptor Antony Gormley and
German filmmaker Wim Wenders served as Chipperfield’s advisors.

The third finalist, Work AC studio, designed
“a city within a city” – a triple-layered landscaped structure with a backfill
platform (that will host a tourist balloon), an awning between the storage
facilities, rooftop greenhouses and pedestrian pathways beneath them.

But MVRDV is
considered the front-runner. The architecture firm is the only genuine “new Dutch”
participant in the tender, and it also proposed the most jovial, kaleidoscopic
and flexible design for New Holland. After closing the island’s loop with a
low-key architectural space, Winy Maas, Jacob van Rijs and Nathalie de Vries
focused on a series of light, temporary pavilions.. MVRDV formulates its island
development strategy as “step-by-step growth,” allowing for the development of
a new cultural quarter in parallel with restoration works.

Investors have already
picked up on this idea for an exhibit last week, opening the island to the
public for the first time in 300 years. Moscow-based architect Boris Bernaskoni
was hired to build on the island lawns and athletic grounds, a campfire site,
colored containers for art projects, cafes and shops, and even a vegetable
garden where each can grow a turnip for his or her own still-life painting of
New Holland.